1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to lottery-based manufacturing devices, systems, methods and electronic aids to lottery-based games. More particularly, the invention is a pull-tab manufacturing and distribution system for printing xe2x80x9con-demandxe2x80x9d pull-tab tickets during purchase.
2. The Prior Art
Traditional pull-tab systems utilizes paper tickets which can be xe2x80x9cbroken openxe2x80x9d to reveal a pattern of symbols which may equate to a winning prize. The tickets are arranged into finite sets called xe2x80x9cdeals,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cdecksxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdrawsxe2x80x9d. Each finite set has a predetermined number of tickets at various prize levels. Therefore the total price of the deck is known (since the tickets are sold for a uniform amount) and the total value of the prizes is known, so the seller of the tickets knows the total profit to be made on the sale of the deck. These decks of tickets are manufactured and printed at a central location, and put into a form usable by standard dispensing machines, typically in rolls or stacks. These rolls are then physically distributed from the central location to each vending site for dispensing. Tickets are dispensed by clerks or vending machines to customers, who peel open a layer hiding the prize contents to reveal what their winning value is, if any. Winning tickets are redeemable for the value of the win. Examples of such implementations are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,033 entitled xe2x80x9cGAMING MACHINE AND COUPONSxe2x80x9d to Bittner, et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,299 entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRONIC GAMING APPARATUSxe2x80x9d to Clapper, Jr.
There are several disadvantages associated with this prior art manufacturing and distribution method for pull-tab tickets. First, the vending sites that dispense the pull-tab tickets are required to carry sufficient inventories of rolls or stacks of tickets to provide the dispensing counter and/or dispensing devices with sufficient quantities of tickets for dispensing to purchasing consumers. Carrying such inventories exposes the site operator to substantial risk of loss due to theft.
Another primary disadvantage associated with prior art systems is that of security which arises due to the relatively easy access to the stacks or rolls of pull-tab tickets by employees of the vending sites. For example, the risk of collusion between a vending site employee and a customer may arise where the employee has access to the stacks or rolls of pre-printed tickets. In such case, the employee may attempt to selectively sell a particular customer certain tickets which the employee believes are xe2x80x9cwinners,xe2x80x9d where for example, the employee realizes that certain winning tickets are dispensed at particular intervals. Similarly, the employee may sell what the employee believes to be losing tickets to other customers, and reserve winning tickets for particular customer(s). Such practices are unfair to customers participating in the pull-tab lotteries and diminishes the trustworthiness of and player participation in such pull-tab games, thereby resulting in reduces revenue for both the pull-tab manufacturer and the vending site operator.
Several attempts have been made to implement lottery-based games in a purely or substantially electronic form (i.e., where the customer is not provided a printed lottery ticket). Examples of such implementations are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,179 entitled xe2x80x9cAUTOMATIC LOTTERY SYSTMExe2x80x9d to Troy, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,035 entitled xe2x80x9cVIDEO GAMING SYSTEM WITH FIXED POOL OF WINNING PLAYS AND GLOBAL POOL ACCESSxe2x80x9d to Morris, et al. While these implementations provide xe2x80x9con-demandxe2x80x9d play of lottery games in electronic format, traditional customers of paper pull-tab games do not find the electronic implementations as fun or exciting. In some cases, players of electronic versions of pull-tabs have a distrust for the electronic format of the game, some indicating a fear that the computer which manages the game is xe2x80x9ccheating.xe2x80x9d
Furthermore, these purely electronic or substantially electronic implementations are also considered xe2x80x9celectronic facsimilesxe2x80x9d of lottery games which fall out of the gambit of Class II Indian gaming devices as is known in the art and as is represented by current federal case law. Accordingly, such implementations require vending site operators to enter into a compact with the state of jurisdiction before implementing such lottery games in electronic form. Establishing such compacts is sometimes time consuming and often fails to be negotiated to fruition due to disagreements about terms, among other things. Additionally, under a compact the vending site operator is required to pay the state of jurisdiction a fee resulting in decreased revenue for the vending site operator. Lottery-based devices implemented as xe2x80x9celectronic aids,xe2x80x9d however, may be operated in a jurisdiction without the requirement of a compact and would thereby ease implementation by a prospective vending site operator.
Prior art printing systems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,553 entitled xe2x80x9cSECURE PLACEMENT OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMAITON ON A CIRCULATED BLANK TICKETxe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,510 entitled xe2x80x9cLOTTERY TICKET AND SYSTEM.xe2x80x9d In each of the above implementations, the ticket media is distributed, either to potential customers or clerk operators. As described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,510, the prior distribution or supply of ticket media to potential customers allows the player the player to choose one of a plurality of lottery ticket types. The player must choose a game type by selecting the appropriate ticket media, and insert the ticket media into the machine for printing thereon. As is known in the art, a primary disadvantage of such ticket media distribution is that the ticket media is susceptible to tampering and/or fraud. Additionally, for each different game type, a partially completed and encoded ticket media must be provided in order to distinguish the game type requested by the patron. Such a system is particularly cumbersome for players, and potentially reduces frequency at which games are played.
Another example prior art pull-tab gaming machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,311 entitled xe2x80x9cELECTRONIC GAMING MACHINE AND METHODxe2x80x9d to Haste. The Haste machine however is limited to printing tickets for game records stored within the machine. This arrangement is not suitable where the game records are to be distributed via a plurality of machines, and is not suitable for use in allowing multiple players to play a plurality of machines and draw from the same pool of lottery tickets. Accordingly the amusement and competition associated with playing fixed-pool games (such as lotteries) among a group of players are diminished.
The needs and concerns outlined above are also present in other lottery-based games, including state lotteries (e.g., pull-tab games, scratcher games). Accordingly, there is a need for a pull-tab manufacturing and distribution system and method which overcomes these and other disadvantages associated with the prior art by providing, among other things, on-demand printing of pull-tab tickets upon or during purchase by the customer. If desired, the present invention may be utilized as an electronic aid, although principally the present invention is utilized as a manufacturing and vending device. Under such arrangements, the risk of carrying large inventories and security breaches are substantially reduced or eliminated altogether. Furthermore, the present invention may be operated without requiring establishing a compact with the state of jurisdiction when operated either as a manufacturing and/or vending device or as an electronic aid to the pull-tab game. The present invention satisfies these needs, as well as others, and generally overcomes the deficiencies found in the background art.
The present invention is a distributed manufacturing and distribution process for lottery tickets, such as pull-tab and xe2x80x9cscratcherxe2x80x9d tickets. In general, the manufacturing/vending system comprises a centralized ticket manufacturing controller located at a centralized location and one or more vending devices located at remote sites. Each vending device is operatively coupled for communication with the centralized ticket manufacturing controller, normally via a network connection. In alternative embodiments, the centralized manufacturing controller and vending devices may be located at the same location.
The manufacturing/vending system further comprises one or more ticket pools. The ticket pools are generally derived by or generated by the centralized ticket manufacturing controller and comprises a plurality of lottery-based tickets. Normally the ticket pools are stored on electronic storages, such as memory or a database either resident in the centralized ticket manufacturing controller or in communication with centralized ticket manufacturing controller. Ticket pools may be kept for multiple type of games or game themes as well as multiple ticket pools for each game or game theme.
Each vending device comprises a printer and the printing process is now located at individual distribution/vending points (i.e., remote sites) rather than at a centralized location. Instead of printing the tickets at the centralized site, the tickets are printed on-demand by the vending device at the remote site(s) upon purchase by a customer. This provides the vending site the ability to provide on-demand purchase of such pull-tab tickets without carrying substantial inventories of stack or rolls of pull-tab tickets. Such an arrangement also makes collusion between vending site employees and purchasers more difficult to carry out.
In an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the vending devices comprise counter service stations, each operated/tended by a clerk or attendant where each ticket sold by the attendant to a customer is dynamically printed upon a purchase request by the customer.
According to another aspect of the invention, each vending device may further be configured as a pull-tab electronic aid, which allows a customer to view the result of a purchased pull-tab ticket in an electronic or electro-mechanical format. In this arrangement, the vending device further comprises a display device, such as a video monitor, LCD display or electro-mechanical reel system, to display the pull-tab ticket result to the customer. Typically, a game theme may be used to present the ticket result in an interesting way to the customer. The display may show symbols corresponding to the game theme according to one or more paylines or payout arrangement layouts.
In one of the preferred embodiments, the result display process occurs during the process of printing the pull-tab ticket so that the display process is completed after the printing process is completed. In other embodiments, the display process occurs after reading transaction data (e.g. a bar code) which has been printed on the pull-tab ticket, where the display presented correlates to the transaction data which has been read from the pull-tab ticket.
According to another aspect of the invention, the vending device may be configured to dispense a plurality of pull-tab games on a single printed pull-tab ticket. In conjunction with printing each pull-tab game on a single printed pull-tab ticket, the vending device further may also be used to display each pull-tab game result in an electronic or electro-mechanical format as described above operating as a pull-tab electronic aid.
The invention further relates to machine readable media on which are stored embodiments of the present invention. It is contemplated that any media suitable for retrieving instructions is within the scope of the present invention. By way of example, such media may take the form of magnetic, optical, or semiconductor media. The invention also relates to data structures that contain embodiments of the present invention, and to the transmission of data structures containing embodiments of the present invention.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the preferred embodiment of the invention without placing limitations thereon.